Online Calculator to Improve Counseling of Short-Term Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality Outcomes at Extremely Low...

Objective Extremely low gestational age (ELGA) infants are at high risk of perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Accurate and relevant data are essential for developing a health care plan and providing realistic estimates of infants' outcomes. Study Design Retrospective analysis of all infants delivered between 23(0/7) and 28(6/7) weeks' gestation over 11 years at a single center. Using logistic regression analysis, gestational age (GA)-specific mortality and morbidity rates, and the effects of gender, antenatal corticosteroids, multiple gestation, and birth weight (BW) were determined. Results Of the 766 study infants, 644 (84.1%) were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, of which 502 (75.8%) survived to discharge. GA, antenatal corticosteroids, and BW were significant predictors of survival (GA: odds ratio [OR] = 1.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.64-2.04; corticosteroids: OR = 7.62, 95% CI = 5.19-11.18; BW: OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.44-1.69). Increasing BW correlated with a decreasing mortality rate. Conclusion This study provides recent outcome data of ELGA infants delivered at a tertiary level center. The results have been translated into an online counseling tool (http://murmuring-brook-6600.herokuapp.com/ELGA.html).